Report - Rewilding and climate resilience: wildfires
Reducing wildfire risk in a heating climate
Britain’s wildfire risk is changing. Climate change is increasing the frequency of hotter, drier conditions in which vegetation and soils can become more flammable and fires can spread rapidly. We must recognise the important contribution that rewilding plays in creating more wildfire-resilient landscapes
In 2025, wildfires in Britain burnt through a record 47,000 hectares of land – an area larger than Glasgow and Birmingham combined. 2026 is on course to be worse still. As these fires become larger, more frequent and more intense, it’s not hyperbole to believe our future national resilience is at stake.
Britain must adapt to a new reality: without a change in approach, extreme weather events such as wildfires will become increasingly devastating. In the short term, the risk of ignition must be lowered. In the long term, the resilience of our landscapes must be improved so they are better able to withstand wildfire, slow its spread, and recover from it.
About this report
This report provides an overview of the current evidence around wildfires in Britain and their relationship with rewilding. To produce the report we analysed European Forest Fire Information System burned-area data alongside UK land-cover data to better understand the habitats affected by wildfire across Britain.
What the evidence shows
The research shows that rewilding, on the other hand, restores natural hydrology, structural variation, and habitat diversity – retaining water in the landscape, breaking up continuous fuel loads, and interrupting fire pathways.
While rewilding is not a substitute for wildfire prevention or emergency response, the evidence reviewed in this report suggests that it can make an important contribution to creating more wildfire-resilient landscapes. Building this resilience at scale demands a strategic national approach, enabling policies, and long-term funding that directly supports land managers for the vital role they play.
Britain’s wildfire – the facts
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47,000HA
Land burnt in Britain during the record 2025 fire season
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£460M
Estimated total UK wildfire damage cost in 2025 alone
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5x
lower fire intensity in native woodlands compared to monoculture plantations
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1
Rewilding Network project directly affected by wildfire in the severe 2026 fire season (out of 285)
Real-world resilience in the Elan Valley
In April 2026 a wildfire burnt 8,000 hectares of upland grassland within Wales’s Elan Valley. A restored and rewetted area of peatland, however, acted as a natural firebreak and remained unaffected because of the higher water levels within the soil. Our report is full of case studies demonstrating the difference nature restoration can make.
of Brits want the government to invest more in nature restoration to address future extreme weather
Our five asks of government
We’re calling on the UK Government and devolved governments to establish National Wildfire Strategies built on five actions:
- Reduce ignition risks: Expand national education, awareness campaigns, and community engagement around responsible access and outdoor access codes.
- Improve wildfire preparedness and response: Fund locally led wildfire planning and risk mapping, alongside cross-border emergency response collaboration between land managers, fire services and governments.
- Support wildfire-resilient landscapes: Encourage a wetter, structurally dynamic mosaic of habitats to meet 30×30 commitments – including peatland and wetland rewetting, beaver reintroductions, broadleaved woodland and natural grazing.
- Align practical, financial and policy support: Reform public funding schemes across all devolved nations to offer secure commitments lasting at least 20 years, giving land managers financial stability to transition.
- Improve the evidence base: Develop consistent UK-wide monitoring of wildfire ignitions, causes, severity and land condition alongside long-term comparative research on fire behaviour across land uses.
Be the change
Rewild to Recover
We’re demanding that the government invest in nature recovery for climate resilience.
Sign our open letter
The Rewilding Network
The Rewilding Network is the go-to place for projects across Britain to connect, share and make rewilding happen on land and sea.
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